Travis Hafner paused to think back through the years the other day, and the Tribe's designated hitter stumbled in midthought. His face contorted in concentration before he quickly gave up trying to remember the last time he felt this good, this solid, this healthy.

Hafner prefers not to think about how this might be the first time in three seasons he hasn't been hampered by a sore right shoulder that required surgery in October 2008, limited him to 57 games that season and hurt him in 2010 and 2011, too.

And he isn't thinking about how this is likely to be his last season in Cleveland. The Indians hold a $13 million club option for 2013 on his current four-year, $57 million extension signed in 2007, and it won't be exercised.

This season is probably Hafner's chance to show Cleveland what might have been if he had stayed healthy. Already, he's off to a good start.

Hafner is third on the team, batting .267. That's after a spring training in which he hit .314, with 10 RBI -- his best spring since 2006, when he hit .354.

Against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, he had two hits -- including his first homer of the season -- and three RBI, his first flash of displaying the kind of talent at the plate that he had in his early years in Cleveland.

He's 34 now, and he's not the same player who averaged 32 home runs and 109 RBI per year from 2004 to '07.

But for the first time, Tribe manager Manny Acta has no restrictions on his designated hitter's playing time. For Hafner's past two seasons, Acta had to keep track of how many games Hafner played, how many consecutive days he played. He wasn't healthy enough to endure the 162-game grind.

"I'm just looking for durability," Acta said. "He came into spring training from Day One just determined to have a good year and feeling the best he has in the last three years. I can't sit here and put numbers on him, but I know if he can stay healthy for the whole season, he's going to be very productive because that's what he's shown me over the last two years."

Typically, the first question reporters ask Hafner is about his health.

These days, he talks more about how he hopes to show Cleveland what he is capable of when finally fully healthy.

"My goal is just to make the playoffs and have a good season, where we win as many games as we can," Hafner said. "Get to the playoffs and then, hopefully, make a run there."

It's early, but Hafner already seems to be showing what he can do to help the Tribe get there.